Young Farmers & Ranchers honors fruit buyer and county committees
Maddie Cook of Fresno has been awarded California Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Star Member Award, recognizing her exceptional dedication to the program.
Cook’s professional background includes produce sales and a current focus on fruit procurement and grower relations. She has been an active participant on the Fresno-Madera YF&R Committee since 2020, managing fundraisers, organizing events and holding multiple leadership roles. She’s also served on the Fresno County Farm Bureau Board of Directors for the past two years.
Cook received the award Saturday night at the YF&R State Conference held in conjunction with the 106th California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Monterey.
Also receiving awards on Saturday were several county committees of the Young Farmers & Ranchers.
The Central Coast YF&R Committee took home the Committee of the Year Award for its engagement in YF&R and its work with the Monterey and San Benito County Farm Bureaus. Members were involved in numerous community-service activities. For example, the committee’s annual Crab Feed raised more than $42,000, allowing it to donate $16,000 in scholarships in both Monterey and San Benito counties.
The Kern YF&R Committee was honored for Harvest for All projects, collaborating with local food charities on more than 13 initiatives. Committee members volunteered approximately 326 hours, donated $10,310 and gave 600 pounds of food to the California State University, Bakersfield, Food Pantry. Meanwhile, the Napa YF&R Committee won the most innovative event prize for its booth at the Napa Valley Farmers Market, where members promote Napa YF&R and Napa County Farm Bureau and provide general agriculture-education resources.
The Sonoma-Marin YF&R Committee earned the top award for community involvement, highlighting its extensive volunteer efforts and organization of various community events. Additionally, the committee played a significant role in the “No on Measure J” campaign coordinated by the Sonoma County Farm Bureau. The Merced YF&R Committee was recognized with the FarmPAC Award for its fundraising efforts, including a raffle at the Merced County Farm Bureau Annual Meeting that raised more than $1,000 for FarmPAC. The funds support the election of decision makers who advocate for the farming way of life.
The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of more than 26,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of 5.8 million Farm Bureau members. ###
Maddie Cook, right, receives the California Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Star Member Award from Trelawney Bullis, YF&R State Committee Chair.
The Kern Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee, represented by Timothy Collins, right, receives the YF&R award for Harvest for All projects from Trelawney Bullis, YF&R State Committee Chair.
The Napa Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee, represented by Cody Clark, right, receives the YF&R award for the most innovative event from Trelawney Bullis, YF&R State Committee Chair.
The Sonoma-Marin Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee, represented by Matthew Vosseler, right, receives the YF&R award for community involvement from Trelawney Bullis, YF&R State Committee Chair.
The Merced Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee, represented by Pierce Hanning, right, receives the YF&R award for its support of FarmPAC from Trelawney Bullis, YF&R State Committee Chair.
The Central Coast Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee receives the YF&R Committee of the Year Award for overall committee excellence from Trelawney Bullis, YF&R State Committee Chair, left. Central Coast members, from left, are Jynel Gularte, David Anderson, Vanessa Ramirez, Quincie Gourley, Greg Johnson and Adrian Garcia Romo.
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